Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1273

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

4 linear feet (11 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Etta Winigrad papers, 1968-2016, Ms. Coll. 1273, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1968-2016 (inclusive)

Creator:

Winigrad, Etta

Form:

Exhibition records, Color slides, Photographs, Sketchbooks, Sketches, and Correspondence

Abstract:

Etta Winigrad (1936- ) is a Philadelphia-based sculptor who works primarily in clay and mixed media. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts from the University Pennsylvania in 1958, and completed postgraduate study at Moore College and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1976. Winigrad's figurative ceramic sculpture combines realistic and fantastical elements, animal-like figures, and humor. This collection, which focuses on Winigrad's life and work as an active artist, includes correspondence, notebooks and sketchbooks, exhibition records, photographs, and negatives. Each of Winigrad's sculptural works is represented in a number of slides, which comprise the bulk of this collection. These images are available online.

Etta Winigrad is a sculptor who works primarily in clay and mixed media. She was born on July 25, 1936, the daughter of Herman and Lee (Vernekoff) Zuritsky, in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. On June 25, 1960, she married Dr. Allen J. Winigrad and together they have four sons: Michael A., David J., Jacob S., and Daniel J. Winigrad.

Etta Winigrad attended Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts from the University Pennsylvania in 1958. She completed postgraduate study at Moore College in 1976 and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, also in 1976.

Etta Winigrad served as vice president of the Parkway Corporation, an auto parking and development firm in the Center City area of Philadelphia, with her mother and brother, Joseph S. Zuritsky. She was the treasurer of the Muse Gallery and Foundation from 1990 and was on the board of directors of the Clay Studio in Philadelphia from 2002. She was a member of the American Crafts Council, the International Sculpture Center, and the Woman's Caucus for Arts.

Winigrad's figurative ceramic sculpture combines realistic and fantastical elements, animal-like figures, and humor. Her sculpture is influenced by primitive forms and surrealism, and addresses concerns of the human condition. Winigrad's work reflects her deep connection to Judaism and she created a sculpture addressing the Holocaust for the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey, which won first prize among 100 entries submitted from around the world. She exhibits her ceramic sculpture at numerous galleries across the country and has commissioned work at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, among others. Several publications have featured Winigrad's sculpture.

Winigrad has won awards from: the Art Association of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, State College, Pennsylvania; Main Line Art Center, Pennsylvania; Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; and Pavilion Gallery, Memorial Hospital, Mt. Holly, New Jersey.

The papers of Etta Winigrad (1936- ), a Philadelphia-based sculptor who works in clay and mixed media, show her process as an artist and her connection with various galleries and with the art community, as well as the business side of being an active artist.

Etta Winigrad's correspondence includes communications with: art publications for the purchase of advertisements showing her work (the advertisements themselves, in publications such as ARTnews, are also included in this collection), authors and publishers regarding placement of her artwork in publications, collectors purchasing her work, slide registry organizations, and galleries at which she was interested in showing her work. Additionally, the correspondence includes communications regarding Winigrad as a teacher and student, and her connection to the art community. Also included are letters and notifications regarding her Bat Mitzvah, which took place on her 80th birthday in 2016.

This collection also includes a number of notebooks and sketchbooks, which show plans for Winigrad's sculptures, both with regard to execution and details regarding dimensions and materials. A box of index-sized notecards provide information about each one of her pieces and to whom they have been sold. While most of the notebooks feature notes and sketches in pencil or black ink, the largest notebook in the collection features color illustrations as well as inlaid pages detailing plans for sculptures.

There are a number of photographs of Winigrad's sculpture-- both on CD and DVD, as well as color and black-and-white prints and large-format negatives. Each of Winigrad's sculptural works is represented in a number of slides, which comprise the bulk of this collection. Some of the pieces represented are titled: Acrobats, Can't See the Forest for the Trees, Connections, The Dance Step, Easy Rider, Enjoy the Ride, Find Me, From the Top Down, Guardian II, Holocaust Memorial, In One Ear..., Lil' Man, Lost Words, Macho Macho, Meetin' in the Middle, Mom, Nature/Man, Night Flight, Transformation, Travelin' II, Untitled (Totem), Voyage, The Watcher, Whose House...?, Yes and No. These images are available online.

Winigrad exhibited her work regularly and kept detailed exhibition records, which are included here. Exhibition records include correspondence with the galleries, as well as postcards and flyers for the exhibitions. Winigrad exhibited at a number of galleries in Philadelphia and across the US, including: The Clay Studio, Muse Gallery, the National Liberty Museum, and The Galleries of Texas Tech Art School.